Video Lecture: by Nasir Mehmood Class-BS 5 Section C

Video Lecture
By
Nasir Mehmood
Class-BS 5th
Section C
• DEFINING BI /MULTILINGUALISM (BML) WITH EXAMPLES
• LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY
• BECOMING BI/MULTILINGUAL
• DIFFERENT TYPES OF BILINGUALISM
• THE SPREAD OF BI/LINGUALISM AND THE SPREAD OF ENGLISH
• CONCLUSION
BML: DEFINITIONS/EXAMPLES
The term bi/multilingualism can be roughly defined as either the
competence of an individual to use two or more languages or the
language situation in an entire nation or society .
The term competence in two languages is debatable as it can range from
a minimal proficiency to a native like competence in a second language.
 Similarly, the use of a language also lacks precision and raises a number
of theoretical and methodological difficulties. For example:
(1) there are people with equal proficiency in several languages
(2) there are those who are able to understand more than one language,
even though they might not be able to produce utterances (Passive ML).
CONTINUED………..
(3) Proficiency may not be the same across the linguistic system:
a. Good Speaking reading and writing, but poor pronunciation
b. producing a reduced grammatical structure, and a limited lexicon, but
with a near native pronunciation
Joseph Conrad- A famous Polish born novelist (1857-1924) was a prolific
writer who learnt English as young adult.
Today his works form a part of Eng. Yet his spoken language use, while
certainly fluent, was reportedly never native like.
As a result, BML is understood as ‘ a series of continua comprising skills
such as listening/reading and speaking/writing.
LINGUISTICDIVERSITY
Nowadays there are about 7,000 languages in the world.
However, it is difficult to find the exact number as the distinction between
a language and a dialect is not always clear, and in many cases there are
no clear boundaries between them, it is rather a continuum that extends
along a geographical area.
Most of the world’s population speak more than one language.
In fact, it would be difficult to find a country which is completely
monolingual because multilingualism is the rule not the exception.
 Some speakers in western cultures are monolinguals in one of the ‘big’
languages, in spite of being exposed to other languages mainly in the
school context.
CONTINUED…..
Therefore, we can say that BML at the sociolinguistic level is more spread than BML
at the individual level, but even in the latter case it is extremely common .
The spread of BML justifies its importance in research. In fact the study of different
aspects of the diversity of languages has been one of the main goals of linguistics.
The diversity of languages in the world and the different vitality of the languages has
important implications for individuals and societies.
For example, The governments of many countries give official recognition to only
one or some of the languages spoken in the country depending on sociolinguistic
context.
BECOMING BI/MULTINGUAL
To be bilingual or multilingual is not the aberration supposed by many
(particularly, perhaps, by people in Europe and North America who speak a ‘big’
language); it is rather a normal and unremarkable necessity for the majority in
the world today (Edwards 1994).
These various languages are usually acquired naturally and unconsciously,
and the shifts from one to another are made without hesitation.
People who are bilingual or multilingual do not necessarily have exactly the
same abilities or command in the languages they know.
In fact, that kind of parity may be exceptional or rather uncommon.
uncommon
CONTINUED……….
The differences in competence in the various languages might range from
command of a few lexical items, formulaic expressions such as greetings, and
rudimentary conversational skills all the way to excellent command of the
grammar and vocabulary and specialized register and styles.
 In fact, the two-thirds of the world’s children grow up in a bilingual

environment. Therefore, communication among the citizens of many of the
world’s countries clearly requires extensive bi (if not multi) lingualism Crystal
(1997) .
Different Types of Bilingualism

SPREAD OF ENGLISH
Multilingualism can be the result of following factors:

Historical or political movements such as imperialism or colonialism. In this case
the spread of some languages, such as English to the Subcontinent and Spanish
to Latin America, it results in the coexistence of different languages.
Economic movements in the case of migration. The weak economics of some
areas and countries results in movement of the population to other areas or
countries. Thus, it causes the development of multilingual and multicultural
communities in the host countries.
Increasing communications among different parts of the world and the need to be
competent in languages of wider communication. This is the case with the
development of new technologies and also with science. English is the main
language of wider communication and it is used by millions of people who use
other languages as well.
CONTINUED……….

Again, English is the main language of wider communication around the
world and it is also used by millions of people who speak other languages.
The development in science and technologies is also a source of
promoting English language.
Social and cultural identity and the interest for maintenance and revival of
minority languages. This interest creates situations in which two or more
languages co-exist in everyday communication.
Education. Second and foreign languages are part of the curriculum in
many countries.
Religious movements that result in people moving to a new country
(tablighi jamaat, Christian missionaries).
CONCLUSION
Multilingualism is shaped in different ways depending on a variety of social
and other factors which must be considered when trying to assess the skills of
speakers.
It is possible ( or not according to some linguist) for a bilingual to be fluent in
both languages or with varying degree of proficiency in those languages.
The diversity of languages in the world and the different vitality of the
languages has important implications for individuals and societies.
Multilingualism can be the result of different factors such as economic or
religious movements
BML is also vital for maintenance of Social and cultural identity and for
maintenance and revival of minority languages around the world. This interest
creates situations in which two or more languages co-exist in everyday talk.
REFERENCES
http://cnl.psych.cornell.edu/pubs/2006-sc-EvoLang.pdf
http://www.susdiv.org/uploadfiles/rt1.2_pp_durk.pdf
http://www.scribd.com/doc/192549814/DIGLOSSIA-BILINGUALISM-
MULTILINGUALISM#scribd
https://fluencytranslation.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/passive-
bilingualism/
https://kivinen.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/plurilingualism-2011-
translation-forum.pdf

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 In fact, the two-thirds of the world’s children grow up in a bilingual

Multilingualism can be the result of following factors:

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